Washing machine



H. G. DUGAN WASHING MACHINE Feb. 19, 1929. 1,702,503

Filed sept. 7, 192e;l 2 sneetssneet 1 Feb. 19,1929. 1,702,503

H. G. DUGAN l WASHING MACHINE Filed Sept?, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 19,

UNIT-En STATES HUGH G. DUGAN, F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.`

wasmme maenner.'

.Application led' September 7, 1990.' Serial No. 183,750.

This invention relates to washing mechanism which may be readily associated with or removed from a wash tub or the like, and

in particular to. the means provided for removably supporting the mec anism in operative relation with respect to the wash tub,

and permitting it to be moved on a trackway from one tub toJ the adjoining tub, so

that one of the tubs may be used as a washing tub and the other as a rinsing tub, and

the mechanism readily shifted in such a way as to conveniently operate upon clothes or other articles being washed in either of the tubs.

In particular, means provided for suspending the washing elements from the main frame in such a way as to permit them to bevreadily swung upinto an elevated position to permit the travel 2o of the mechanism along the track without interference from the partition wall between the two tubs, so that the mechanism as a whole can be convenientl shifted along the trackway without bodily ifting it therefrom in order to pass a partition between the tubs.

Further objects and details will appear from av description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein- Figure 1 is a cross sectional elevation of a wash tub with the mechanism in operating position; and

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a tub showing the mechanism in end elevation and lifted to clear a partition wall in the tub structure.

The mechanismcomprises a platform 10 which is provided on its under side with inner` and outer journal brackets 11 andl12 respectively, which brackets are-journaled upon an inwardly extendingsupporting rod 13 which is carried by an elbow shaped main frame casting 14, the lower leg 15 of which has depending therefrom a guide rod 16 constituting in effect an extended ortion of 1the frame and carrying a groove roller 17 at its lower end, which roller engages the inner edge of a lower trackway 18, suitably mounted on brackets 19 secured to the legs 20 of a wash tub 21 with which the mechanism is associated.

The main frame Acasting is also' provided with laterally extending arms 22--22, each of which journals a roller 23, which rollers run upon an upper trackwa'y M supported the invention relates to the \upon the forward edge of the tub structure, the arrangement being such that the upper rollers 23 will support the' weight of the washing mechanism carried by the platform 1Q, and the lower roller by its engagement w1th the lower trackway will counteract the weight of the arts and -maintain them in overhanging re ation to the tub.

As shown; the inner journal bracket 11 bears a ainst the outer end of the upper leg of t e elbow shaped main casting, and the parts are arranged to permit the rock- 1ng of the platform on the journal rod 13 agamst the tension of'a coil spring 25, which encircles the journal rod and has one of its ends entered into the` platform and the other A entered into the journal rod.

`In order to hold the platform' normally in horizontal position, a latch rod 26, or equivalent mechanism, is provided. As shown, the latch rod is guided through a lug 27 and the inner end of the latch rod 1s positioned, when the platform is level, to engage with a notch or recess 28 in the inner journal bracket 11, which engagement will serve to-lockthe parts against rotation on thejournal rod. The rear end of the latch rod is pivoted t'o the upper end ofl a trigger 29 having a center lug 30 which is pivoted upon the main frame casting, and the free end of the trigger is forced out# wardly by an interposed sprin 31, the ar rangement being such that a epression of the free end of the tri ger will cause a retraction of the latch ro and a release of the parts which are then free to rotate upon the journalrod.

The platform 10'serves as a mounting for the mechanisms now to be described. The platform directly supports a wrin er 32 of any approved construction, and a so at 'its inner end provides a support on its upper side for a motor standard 33 and also provides a support on its lower side for a dependin hanger bracket 34,'which latter is 100 prefera ly forked at its lower end 35 as shown in Fig. 1 to afford a journal mounting for the trunnions 36 of a walking beam 37, which4 at its ends carries the dasher cups 38 which, as shown, are of inverted 105 ovate formation with their longer diameters 1n arallel relation to the journal rod 13. Alt ou h but two cups are shown, it is ob-l vious t at the number of cu s mi ht be duplicated or increased,l and t e co gurano tion of theoperating parts correspondingly modified without departing from thespirit of the invention.4

One of the trunnions for the walkin beam has secured thereto a crank arm 39 w 'ch is engaged by a pitman 40, which in turn is pivoted upon a short rotating arm 41, driven by gearing 42 actuated by a pulley 43 suitably entrained with a motor 44 which is mounted upon the upper end of the standard 33. The arm 41 being shorter than the crank 39 will transform a rotary motion into an oscillating motion, which will be imparted to the dashers through the walking beam upon which they are carried. Clutch elements 45 are provided for driving the wringer by the motor, and the pitman 40 is preferably made removable at its upper endto disable the dasher elements if desired when the wringer is being used.

In use, with the parts in posit-ion indicated in Fig. l, the motor will be operated and the dasher elements oscillated at a point within the interior of the tub. With the-parts in this position, the latch mechanism will be in locked relation, so that the platform will be held horizontally and its tendency to tilt i nwardly will be counteracted by engagement of the lower roller with the lower track. lt is preferred to provide the upper track with V notches or recesses 46 so as to hold the upper rollers against longitudinal travel along the up er trackway save when the mechanism is belng shifted from one'tub to another.

When it is desired to shift the mechanism, the trigger 'is actuated to release the latch after whlch the operating parts may be tilted to a substantially horizontal position, as in Fig. 2, and this will lift the dasher elements Asuiiiciently to clear the partition wall 47 which separates the tub sections. rlhereafter the mechanism can be rolled along on the trackways until the upper rollers drop into the appropriate notches 46 whereupon the parts will be restored to normal operative position, and the washing operation continued in the second tub. Obviously, any numberof tub sections may beiprovided, and the trackways extended to the required length to ac-a commodate all of the tub sections.

lIt is preferred to so tension the spring 25 that it will act to compensate the greater weight of the motor and wringer and hold the parts, when released, in such relation as to permit the washing elements to clear the .tub partition, that is to say, with the' latform in substantially vertical relation Wit respect to the journal rod upon which it is mounted, by thus compensating for the preponderant weight of the upper portion of the mechanism, the operator will be relieved from the necessity of carefully steadying the mechanism against the tendency to over tilt or upset during the shifting o eration.

The mechanism, w en desired, can be bodily removed from the top structure by rolling ing the same to the limits of the trackways, and the trackwa arrangement is one which does not materi y interfere withthe use of the tubs for hand washing or the like, and by makingthe mechanism easily removable, it may be stored away when the tubs are not in use.

Although the mechanism has been. described in considerable detail, it is not the intention to limit the invention, unless otherwise indicated in the claims, to the precise details shown, since the same may be modified to a considerable extent without departfrom the spirit of the invention. claim:

1'. In a washing machine in combination with a tub provided with a trackway thereon, a frame mounted to travel along said trackway and provided with an inwardl transversely extending journal rod overhanging the interior of said tub, a supporting member journaled upon said rod and tiltable thereon, washing elements carried by said supporting member and adapted to be moved from a depending operative position to an elevated inoperative position, 'and means for locking said supporting member in operatively adjusted relation, substantially as described.

Y 2. ln a washing machine in combination with'a tub provided with parallel upper and lower tracks, a main frame provided with a roller supportedupon the upper edge of the .upper track and a roller supported upon the 'journal rod extending transversely of the tracks, washer elements tiltably mounted on said rod as an axis, said washer elements including a frame adapted when' operatively adjusted to extend down within the interior of the tub, and dasher elements carried by said frame, substantially as described.

4. In a washing machine in combination with a tub having upper and lower trackways, a main frame provided with a roller bearing upon the u per edge of the upper trackway, and a rol er bearing upon the inner ed e of the lower trackway, said main i frame eing provided with an inwardly extending journal rod extending transversely of the tracks, a platform journaled upon said rod as an axis and adapted to be tilted from anormal horizontal position to an inoperative angular position, a hanger depending from said platform, washing elements car# ried by said hanger, a motor supported upon the opposite side of said platform, an operative connection between said motor and said washing elements, and a lock for normally holding the platform in operative relation, substantially as described.

5.` In a washing machine in combination with a tub having upper and lower trackways, a main frame provided with a roller bearing upon the upper edge of the upper trackway, and a roller bearing upon the inner edge of the lower trackway, said main frame being provided with an inwardly extending journal rod, a platform journaled upon said rod adapted to be tilted from a normal horizontal position to an inoperative angular position, a hanger depending from said platform, washing elements carried by. said hanger, a motor supported upon the opposite side of said platform, an operative connect-ion between said motor and said washing elements, a lock for normally holding the platform in operative relation, and a spring for compensating the preponderant weight of the motor when the parts are unlocked and tilted, substantially as described.

6. In a washing machine, the combination of a tub having front and rear sides, two separated parallel traclrways adjacent and parallel with the same side of the tub, one being located near the upper edge vof the front wall of the tub and the other being located more distantly from said front edge, a frame located above the interior of the tub and having an element extending away from the frame l and spanning the space between the two trackways, a member carried by said frame and bearing downwardly upon the trackway most nearly adjacent the upper edge of the front wall of the tub for supporting the weight of the frame and arts carried thereby, a member carried by t e extended element and bearing against the more distant trackway on that side thereof which faces toward the tub wall for preventing down tilting of the frame under the weight carried thereby, the frame being unsupported from the rear side of the tub, and washing elementsv carried by the frame, substantially as described.

7. In a washing machine, the combination of a tub having front and rear sides, two separated parallel trackways adjacent and parallel with the same side ofthe tub, one being located near the upper edge ofthe front wall of the tub and the other being located more distantly from said front edge, a frame located above the interior of the tub and hav- 'ing an element extending away from the frame and spanning the space between the two trackways, a member. carried by said frame and bearing downwardly upon the trackway most nearly adjacent the upper edge of the front wall 0f the tub for supporting the weight of the frame and parts carried thereby, a member carried by the extended scribed.

8. In a washing machine, vthe combination of` a tub having front and rear sides,ltwo sepc arated parallel traekways adj acent'and parallel with. the same side of the tub, one being located near the upper edge of the front wall of the tub, and the other being located at a point substantially below the upper edge of the front wall of the tub, a frame located above the interior of the tub and having an element extending away from the frame and' spanning the space between the two trackways, a member carried by said frame and bearing downwardly upon the trackway most nearly adjacent the upper edge of the front wall of the tub for supporting the weight of the frame and parts carried thereby, a member carried by the extension and bearing against the more distant trackway on that side thereof which faces inwardly toward the tub wall for preventing down tilting of the frame under the weight carried thereby, the frame being unsupported from the rear side of the tub, and washing elements carried by the frame, substantially as described.

HUGH e. DUGAN. 

